Job 4:5

Yet now that trouble befalls you,

            You cannot bear it.

It touches you,

            And you are overcome.

 

Interestingly enough, I put in “befalls” all on my own. Every so often I do not like the words used and I reach for the dictionary to pick a word I like the definition of better. I think I pulled befalls from other points in Job more so than a look through the dictionary or the thesaurus, but its my amalgamation and I will do whatever I think God is leading me to do. If I am wrong, it is not the first time.

“Trouble” was only used once whereas the others all used the pronoun “it” instead. I like to look at verses on their own and often dismiss the pronouns. I like to err on the side of clarity.

“Bear it” was a one among many with six other options. The concept of “faint” was used twice, but it seems more physical than the actions discussed. Other words include “impatient”, “discouraged”, “weary”, “too much”, and “stand it”. My mental image is not so much as one who is worn out, but one who is mad that it happened in this fashion. Job can not stand the “injustice” of suffering for being upright.

“Touches you” was picked over “strikes” and “reaches“ and harkens back to the instruction that Satan was not to do too much to Job. My choice was made based on “striking” being too physical and “reaches” being too random. This was done to Job on purpose and he demands to know why. He would probably not mind suffering if he deserved it.

Options for the last phrase included “dismayed”, “troubled”, “unnerved”, and “undone”. So once again it seems I went with my own word. “Troubled” is too much like the trouble that has befallen him. “Unnerved” is not really in my vocabulary. “Dismayed” is more of a response to the physical alignment than the spiritual. “Undone” was a close second, but it was from my least favorite (the Poet) and I decided to hunt for a word that captured the spiritual condition of Job, and I found overcome to be best.

I have seen trouble in others and now it touches me, and I want to fight back. Job is not rolling over and wallowing in his misery so much as gathering himself to argue his point. He loves God, he knows he loves God, and he knows God did this to him, not because of some sin, but for some other, unknown reason. I know why I have my trouble and I see the difference. I need God to get me out of it, just as Job needed God to get out of his situation. Job’s “friends” assumed he was weak like me, but God knows all.